The Jetpacker

Modern art is, for lack of a better phrase, “really freakin’ weird.”  So it makes sense that Paris’ modern art museum, Centre Pompidou, would be just as strange on the outside as it is on the inside.

The building looks like it was flipped inside out, with a maze of pipes from the plumbing and ventilation systems twisting and winding on the exterior (let’s hope a pipe doesn’t burst).  Scaffolding hides the windows and stairs run down the corners as if the building was still under construction.  It’s a stark contrast to the elegance of Paris.

The wait to get in was about an hour, but the street performers in the square kept us entertained.  I’m not sure what was more entertaining: their performances or people’s reactions once they step inside Centre Pompidou.

Here’s the thing about modern art:  some of it is really cool for no good reason, and some of it is really stupid for a lot of good reasons.  There were a few people that seemed genuinely ticked off that some of this “art” even made it into a museum.  There were things like a random smudge on a blank canvas.  A piece of rope hanging from the ceiling.  A sliced piece of fabric hanging from the wall.  A sound-proof room with a piano.

“What the heck is this!?” is a phrase that’s easily understood in any language.  But I still think “I could do better than that” was probably the most common phrase we heard.

That’s the fun part of modern art:  you get to debate about whether it really is art.  Some of the works I “got.”  They made sense to me.  Other times I didn’t get it.  Hence, I was annoyed.

But for every confusing and frustrating piece of work, there was an awesome piece of eye candy, including some artwork that we actually walked into.  Our favorite was a room that looked like it came out of an episode of The Flinstones; it was like a cave made of cartoonish white stones with black outlines that were fitted together like Tetris pieces.

Once we got tired of arguing about the validity of some of the artwork, we went to the sixth floor for a panoramic view of Paris.  On a clear night, the view is probably fantastic.  On a misty night… not so much.

Learn more about Centre Pompidou here.